Sorta. My stepdad taught me a lot just from watching him fix stuff, and when he couldn't hold tools anymore I would be his hands while he encouraged me to figure it out. It doesn't come naturally to me though! I do give most repairs a try before I call someone...because I'm cheap and our budget is tight...with mixed results.

No. I was into that stuff as a kid, and even took shop in high school (very rare in my area at that time)...but I get easily freaked out about any task that I don't already know how to handle. I have done a few little things here and there, and I'm not afraid of a hammer or a wrench, but I tend to leave that stuff for dh, because he doesn't panic. (This also applies to other skills - I have an empty garden box right now, and a batch of yarn for learning to crochet that I haven't touched in six months, because it's not going quite right and I feel incompetent.)

In terms of repairing stuff? No, not really. But I'll build shelves and stuff like that. I built custom shelves to turn our broom closet into a mini mud room, and it turned out great! And I'm handy with a sewing machine and at crafting -- not sure if stuff like that counts.

I've known people who will hire someone to do stuff like hang pictures (not giant ones or way up high either) -- that seems excessively unhandy to me, but different strokes, I guess.

As a child, I would ask for power tools for presents.....and nothing has changed. I love being able to build, fix, create, etc. If I don't know how to do something, I'll read a book, watch a video, ask someone who knows....then I'll give it a try. There is a great sense of both freedom and satisfaction when you build something with your own hands. In fact, I am in the middle of remodeling a house we just bought.

Handy!

"This is the sickest species the world has ever known."
Dr.John Bergman, speaking about the human species.

Heh. I wish. Well, I wish one of us was. As a kid I wanted to marry a carpenter (called John, and live in the Alps... I had specific life goals!), and I ended up marrying a man who can barely wield a hammer.

I'm handy at a few of the more traditionally feminine accomplishments. I can sew and mend and cook. I can (theoretically) knit and (slowly) quilt. I can paint a wall, as long as you don't want it done well or fast. :p I can garden well for a few weeks at a time before I lose interest and let it all go to pot.

I absolutely cannot build, though - I can't even drive a nail in. I'm not sure if it's a strength issue or just too much attachment to my thumbs, but I can never get the nail in, let alone straight. It's truly pathetic.

I bought a dresser online with the intention of sanding, painting and staining it... about eighteen months ago. It's still half-done in the garage. Apparently my talents don't lie in that direction either.

I do wish one of us were competent enough to build a chicken run. And I have utter and slack-jawed admiration for people who actually build their own houses, renovate their own kitchens and so on. Ah well. I de-stained the carpet yesterday; I can live off the smugness of that for some time.

I'll take a crack at household stuff. I am happy to leave car repairs to the professionals. DH is really handy so he usually gets to household problems first.

Quote:

Originally Posted by limabean

I've known people who will hire someone to do stuff like hang pictures (not giant ones or way up high either) -- that seems excessively unhandy to me, but different strokes, I guess.

Or excessively busy with other things in their lives. I know a couple who did this when they moved into a new house. They each run their own companies and he also teaches at a college. They could hang their artwork themselves. They have other priorities for their spare time.

DH is military, so I'm learning to be handy, but I will also literally inconvenience myself for months (like changing the lightbulb on the high ceiling above the stairwell....instead, I'll walk through the dark at night), if I'm not confident I'm going to do it right, or I can't figure out to do it.

Why, what do you need fixed? :) I was chief flashlight holder growing up, my dad taught me how to do everything. The funny thing is I married a guy who is not a fixer. He would hire someone to take out the trash if he could. My dad is so offended by the fact that my dh isn't a fixer. When we lived in our house I changed the faucets, repainted the whole inside, fixed the deck...all sorts of stuff. That my dad taught me to do. But dad would call it "dh's toolbox" and ask things like "Oh, nice towel bars, when did B put them in?" DUDE!! Why did you make me learn all this stuff if you just wanted me to marry a man who would do it all? Why did I skip the pool for like half a summer to help you rebuild the deck??? It drive me nuts. But I understand where my dad is coming from, men fix stuff in his world (he's 73) and I think that for as much as he wanted his girls to be self sufficient, he doesn't want them to have to be.

mamalisa, I've run into that old-fashioned perspective before too. When DH and I moved into our first home, there were wire shelves that were positioned too low for our washer/dryer to fit under. I got a screwdriver and went to remove them (I mean really, it was 4 screws to take out, no biggie at all), and my MIL came up and said, "Oh, maybe we could ask FIL to do that." I said, "It's okay, I'm right here, I got it," and she said, "I know, but it'd make him feel helpful."

Nowadays, I would be the bigger person and ask him to do it, but that day I just couldn't bring myself to do that. For one thing, it felt patronizing, like letting a kid stir the batter and then saying, "Wow, you're such a big helper!" while you give it a few final stirs to get it actually mixed (which I totally do, but you know what I'm saying). And for another thing, DH and I spent tons of money on that house and it was our first place, and ... I guess I wanted to mark my territory. So I took those damned shelves out myself.

DH is military, so I'm learning to be handy, but I will also literally inconvenience myself for months (like changing the lightbulb on the high ceiling above the stairwell....instead, I'll walk through the dark at night), if I'm not confident I'm going to do it right, or I can't figure out to do it.

The lightbulb thing is me!!! How many dalia's does it take to screw in a lightbulb? NONE. 'Cause she ain't doing it!!

Don't get me wrong, I wish I was handy!! But my brain just doesn't work that way. I'm more of an "arteest" LOL.

Wife to one amazing husband , SAHM to DS 10/09, DS 10/19, one furbaby , and lots of !

For the most part. And sometimes it sucks, I really wish DH was *more* handy then he is so we could share the load.

I don't do cars past being able to put new fluids in and mostly change a tire if I'm desperate. DH however can do a few more things on the cars like actually change the oil (though he hates it and will work extra just to pay to have it done). And he can actually get the windshield wipers that don't like me off and changed (I've never had a problem before this vehicle).

And he is really good at hanging shelves and pictures frames that require math and levels although part of that was my dad who taught him and the other part was his work.

He's an electrician, and works in the trades. So technically he should be more handy then he is...

But I'm the one who paints, pulls apart the washing machine, hangs regular pictures, puts furniture together, puts toys together, fixes the things around the house and other odd stuff like that. In fact I reno'd most of our other house by myself... DH helped a bit, my parents helped some and some we brought in friends or contractors. But for the most part it was I who did the majority. I guess it helps that the majority was paint or refinishing stuff

Oh and I can even do some basic electrical because you know the saying... "The painters house is never painted, the cobblers kids have no shoes...?" Yes well the electricians wife sometimes has to do her own electrical

The lightbulb thing is me!!! How many dalia's does it take to screw in a lightbulb? NONE. 'Cause she ain't doing it!!

Don't get me wrong, I wish I was handy!! But my brain just doesn't work that way. I'm more of an "arteest" LOL.

I remember calling up a friend after 3 weeks of no lights in my kitchen, asking her how I change a little bulb, and how I figure out what kind of bulb to use LOL. It was one of those chandelier bulbs, but it had no words on it or anything, so I wasn't sure what wattage I needed. Needless to say, she did it -oops-

Why does it seem like the handy women have less than handy husbands? That's my situation too--I love to build and fix, but DH hates that kind of stuff. Which really sucks right now since we still have a lot of work left to do on our new place!

"This is the sickest species the world has ever known."
Dr.John Bergman, speaking about the human species.

Why does it seem like the handy women have less than handy husbands? That's my situation too--I love to build and fix, but DH hates that kind of stuff. Which really sucks right now since we still have a lot of work left to do on our new place!

Because if I needed a handy guy I would have married one :) Also, why bother doing it when you know your wife will handle it? grrr.

That's very true. In this day and age, the ability to set up a computer, upgrade a soundcard, diagnose why MoviePlayer is Doing That Thing Again etc definitely counts as handy.

Haha, so true! I could try something over and over, and get nowhere. As soon as he looks at the computer, the problem is solved.....almost as if by magic! Which makes me wonder if he really is a cyborg after all.......

"This is the sickest species the world has ever known."
Dr.John Bergman, speaking about the human species.

Im pretty house- handy. I can change lightbulbs (and fixtures!), do anything that requires the use of a drill, paint, sand, stain, small plumbing repairs, etc.

I cannot change a tire, but I can add oil to my car :)

Holly
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